For Camryn’s seventh birthday, she decided she wanted to splash into the seven seas! She had a very clear vision for what she wanted and I had way too much fun bringing all of her little ideas to life.

THEME

The theme started with the invitations. I designed a watercolor mermaid invitation on Canva and we carried those same colors and details throughout the party.

Earlier this year, I found matching mermaid swimsuits for the four of us. They ended up doing double duty as our beach swimsuits all summer, which made them even more fun! I love when something cute for a birthday party can actually get some use beyond the party itself.

No mermaid party would be complete without a little bit of pretending. Camryn asked me to paint a giant mermaid tail that her friends could stand behind and pretend to be mermaids. It ended up being one of my favorite little details and made for some pretty adorable pictures.

DECORATIONS

The centerpiece was a giant inflatable clam shell, complete with twistable balloon stands on either side. It was the perfect spot for the girls to pose and definitely gave the party that under the sea feeling. There was a bit of a learning curve as we tried to figure out how to add the balloons, but my mom and I made it work.

I also ordered curly foil fringe from Amazon to hang behind the food table because it looked just like water. Naturally, I made the mistake of not realizing I didn’t have enough until I was setting everything up the day before. I placed a Walmart order for more curly fringe, but when my order was delivered, I discovered that the fringe was out of stock. Since the fringe options were already pretty limited in Selma, I decided to just drive to Walmart myself and see if I could find something that would work. Would you believe I walked into the exact spot where the curly fringe was supposed to be and found a plethora of pink curly fringe?! It wasn’t blue like the original fringe, but it was absolutely coming home with me.

Of course, Camryn also decided her friends needed mermaid tail squishies to take home, so I called my dad and asked him to bring his giant clam shells to use as the perfect party favor holders. He also brought tons of smaller shells for the girls to take home, along with some that we scattered around the table as part of the decorations. You can never have too many shells for a mermaid party!

FOOD

We try to keep the food simple for birthday parties because food is not my forte. First up was watermelon, which is one of her absolute favorites. Then we had goldfish and gummy sharks because water animals belong at a mermaid party.

We also had popcorn, another one of Camryn’s favorites. As I was setting up, Camryn asked me if popcorn has anything to do with mermaids or the ocean. We learned that there is actually a place in the Canary Islands called Popcorn Beach, where the beach is covered in tiny white pieces of coral that look like popcorn. Camryn was thrilled to learn that her favorite snack was part of the theme!

Camryn made the executive decision that we needed cupcakes from Mrs. Phyllis this year and she wouldn’t dream of having a party without Mrs. Summer’s royal icing cookies.

I had my heart set on having starfruit to garnish the purple glitter lemonade Camryn requested, but no one sells starfruit in Selma. Thankfully, I found some online at Publix a few days before the party. Since I didn’t have time to drive an hour each way to get them, I discovered that Instacart will deliver from Publix for a small long-distance fee. Worth it for my girl!

Thank you to everyone who made Camryn feel special for her birthday!

Also, here is an Amazon affiliate link if you want to shop everything I bought from Amazon for the party.